Tow-boat



(No Model.) SISheets-Sheet 1.

AyMDoUGALL.

TOW BOAT.

mi mama Hills co., wom-mwa, wAsnNmn, 0.1:.

(No Model.) Sv l AMCDOUGALL. 3 hee Sheet 2 ToWBoAT. I0-.429,461 Patentedune's, 1890'u Smeetseeeeee A. MGDOUGALL.

. Tow BOAT.

No. 429,467. Patented J11`n023y1890v.

@j www. m'mmwmimin ll ummm am Mun si il i WIW UNITED STATES PATENT Orricne ALEXANDER MCDOUGALL, OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN STEEL BARGE COMPANY, OF NEV YORK.

Tow-BOAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 429,467, dated J' une 3, 1890.

Application tiled May 24, 1889. Serial No. 311,991. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER McDon- GALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Duluth,in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tow-Boats; and Ido hereby declare the following to beafull, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

In several Letters Patent of the United States, Nol 241,813, dated May 24, 1881, No.

259,889, dated June 20, 1882, and NOQQQ, dated December 4, 1888, all granted to me, I have described various new and useful improvements in tow-boats, such improvements relating more especially to the form and construction of hull and to the mounting` of Working-decks above the same, and also to various minor details for attachment to said hull. All of these several Letters Patent describe towboats of the same general characteristicsviz., a metallic water-tight hull adapted t0 be almost wholly submerged and provided with one or more working-decks above the same mounted on metallic turrets and which is adaptedto be towed by a steamboat.

In building and operating a practical boat constructed in accordance with the iirst two of said Letters Patent and from extensive experiments conducted with models built to acwas thought that the upper portion thereof should be made With as great a curvature as possible-viz., semicircular-in order that the effect of the waves on the same would be reduced to a minimum; but I have found that the great curvature of the top of the boat is disadvantageous, for the reason that in very large boats, if built in the same proportions, the deck will be brought much above the customary loading-chutes now generally in use for handling grain, coal, &c., and also that there is danger in some instances of vessels riding up on the portions of said top which is submerged and injuring the same. This 0bjection is in a measure avoided by the conthereof, and with an ellipsoidal top, thereby securing a very strong and immovable construction, and also by making use of a bow and stern each oval in cross-section for its greater part.

The various parts in detail of the tow-boatforming the subject of this present application are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein corresponding parts are designated byl identical letters and numerals of reference, and in which Figure 1 is a cross-section of the body portion of the hull; Fig. 2, an elevation of the entire boat; Fig. 3, a longitudinal sectional view of the same; Fig. 4, a top view of the boat, and Fig. 5 a bottom view of the same.

The preferable dimensions of the hull are two hundred and sixty feet in length, thirtysix feet in width, and twenty-two feetin depth; but it will be of course understood that these dimensions may be changed with,- out departing from the spirit of my invention.

The hull for the tow-boat is made with a curved bow and stern, and the sides for a greater part of theirlength are made perfectly vertical and parallel with each other. These sides occupy about three-fourths the entire depth of the hull. Springing in from these sides, ata point some distance below the load water-line, is the top or main deck A, made ellipsoidal in form, as shown in Fig. 1.

The bottom of the hull is either made perfectly iiat or with a slight downward curve and with rounded corners joining the vertical sides before mentioned, but this bottom is capable of many changes without departing from the spirit of the invention.

At about one-fifth the entire length of the boat from each extreme endthereof the vertical sides begin to curve gradually inwardly, s0 as to form the bow and stern of the hull, and

rool

this curve is sufficient to bring the two sides within about five feet of each other at the extreme frontland rear ends. The bottom begins to curve upwardly somewhat nearer the extreme ends than the beginning of the curvature of the sides, and this curve of the bottom extends upward on each side and merges gracefully in the curvature of the sides, so that the cross-sectional shape of the bow and stern will be oval for the greater part. The top or main deck continues on a perfectly straight line from one end of the hull to the other, but the particular form thereof changes gradually with the curve of the sides until the ellipsoidal shape of the top is changed by degrees into a perfect semieircle at a point adjacent to the extreme ends.

The extreme front and rear of the boat are formed of a perfectly fiat circular surface, which is preferably protected by an elastic buffer a. The use of these buffers is old and I make no claim thereto. Both the bow and stern are precisely alike, with the single exception that a skeg is formed on the stern, and are of a spoon shape, as I have just described.

The stern is provided with a skeg l), which is continuous with the plating of the hull and begins on a point on the bottom of the boat near the upward curve of the bottom to form the stern. This skeg continues in line with the center line of the bottom of the boat to a point adjacent tothe extreme end. By means of this skeg I can use a large rudder A, and the boat will therefore steer much better than if the skeg were not used.

The above description relating to the outside form of the hull forms the principal subject-matter of my invention, and to which I attach the greatest importance.

A small engine-room H is located, preferably, at the upper portion of the hull just forward of the after bulk-head, and contains a boiler s or a steam-pump s, by which the water may be pumped out of the tanks and air-chamber, as described.

i Entrance to the hull is effected by means of a number of hatchways, each of which is covered by a hatch t during transportation.

The present boat is provided with a` rear turret I at the stern portion, which supports a working-deck J. VTo protect the steersman on this working-deck, a housing K of some kind is used. A capstan Il is placed upon this rear working-deck, and it is used forhandling the aft hawser. A steering-wheel Mis also mounted on this rear working-deck and connects with the rudder A. The cabin is reached from this working-deck by means of a spiral staircase N, which extends spirally down into the turret.

VVithinithe forecastle is placed a steamwindlass y, operated by a small engine, and

supplied with steam from the boiler s through the pipe y', which extends on the under side of the main deck on one side of the line of hatches. The exhaust-steam from this small engine is conveyed through a corresponding pipe y, located on the other side of said line of hatchways and leading into the smoke-pipe of the boiler s. By this means the heat of these conductingpipes will keep the main deck at a sufficiently high temperature to prevent the formation of ice thereon and a safer footing for the crew is offered. The windlass y is used to handle the anchor-chains and fore hawser. Directly above this windlass t' the fore turret R supports a working-deck'R, which is directly adjacent to the pipe .e e, ar ranged to ventilate the'forecastle. This fore workingdeck also carries the capstan ,e,which is preferably coupled to the fore turret, as before referred to.

The working-deck is reached by means of heavy metallic ladders l l, and is provided with a railing or netting 2, supported on stanchions 3 3 for the protection of the crew.

The towing-hawser is attached either to timber-heads 4: 4 on the working-deck R or to timber-heads 5 5, placed on the main-deck, and this hawser ext-ends through an eye 6 at the extreme forward portion of the boat, so as to leave the boat in the exact form.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. rlhe hull for a tow-boat, having a curved bow, with a top ellipsoidal in form for a greater part of its length, with straight sides,

vand with a bottom rounded at the corners,

substantially as set forth.

2. The hull for a tow-boat,having a top ellipsoidal in form for the length of the main portion of the hull, a bow oval in cross-section for its greater part and circular in crosstion at its extreme end, a similarly-constructed stern provided with a skeg, parallel sides foi the length of the main portion of the hull, and a bottom rounded at the corners.

3. In a tow-boat, a boiler located near its stern, a steam-windlass near its bow, a line of steam-conducting pipes extending from said boiler to the win dlass on one side of the hatchways adjacent to the deck, and a return line of exhaust-steam-conducting pipes extending from said windlass to the said boiler and on the other side of the hatchways adjacent to the deck, so that said deck will be heated from said lines of conducting-pipes, for the purposes mentioned.

In testimony whereofI affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALEXANDER MCDOUGALL. lVitnesses:

C. E. NACHTEL, E. R. Banen.

IOO

IIO 

